Monday, December 10, 2012

Old School JRPGs For Your Iphone or Ipad

I finally got around to doing a post about old school JRPGs for iPhone / iPad. There is a pretty good selection of RPGs in the App Store and it sure competes well with Nintendo DS or PSP. I will admit right off the start that I'm not particularly big on RPGs so far on IOS as I own very few of them, but I don't really want to pony up the cash ($9.99 to $19.99) for them when I have them on the Nintendo DS or Sony PSP too. I'm also not a fan of any game with a virtual joystick or D-pad, but it is not quite as bad for turn based games or these old style JRPGs. I've tried first person shooters with a virtual stick and basically gave up, but I like cover shooters such as Frontline Commando or Epoch which use a simpler control scheme. However, any redeveloped original console game for a touchscreen needs to eliminate pads if possible.

Fantasy Chronicle
Kemco
Another JRPG in the classic sense. An orphan must avenge his village's destruction with the aid of companions both human and beast. Has received fairly good reviews and shows up in conversations along with Symphony of Eternity listed below. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rpg-fantasy-chronicle/id441242571

Dawn of Magic
By Lakoo.
Classic turn based RPG in a modern game that has received many good reviews. Has in-app purchase. Good gameplay and graphics with an enjoyable storyline. Magic gems power the world. A small amount of magic remains and there are struggle to
hold the world together.https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dawn-of-magic/id471677792

Final Fantasy I
Square Enix

This is a good little JRPG from the classic school again. It was initially released in Japan in 1987 to good success.https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/final-fantasy/id354972939
You are the Warriors of Light on a quest to restore the crystals to their former luster. The battles were finally shown from a side view and character classes were added. A large world could be explored and it set the stage for the later Final Fantasy games.

This edition also contains the bonus dungeons added to later editions of the game--the Soul of Chaos and the Labyrinth of Time

Final Fantasy IIhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/final-fantasy-ii/id354974729The highly anticipated follow-up to the original FINAL FANTASY, released in Japan in 1988.
Basically, FFII is a more complex game and finicky game than FFI. I've heard it said that if you can't get into FFI then you might just move onto FFIII which is the big hit out of the three titles. This edition also contains the bonus dungeons added to later editions of the game--the Soul of Rebirth and the Arcane Labyrinth.Final Fantasy IIIhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/final-fantasy-iii/id424591347
First released in 1990, Final Fantasy III was the first title in the Final Fantasy series to become a million-seller. This is probably one of the more accessible and established Final Fantasy games on multiple platforms. Lots of innovation happened in this title. When darkness falls and the land is robbed of light, four youths are
chosen by the crystals to set forth on a journey to save the world. The full 3D remake released in 2006 duplicated the original's success, selling over a million copies worldwide.

Chronotrigger
Square Enixhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chrono-trigger/id479431697
Classic and inventive gameplay. A classic to play again. Some warnings about the last update for IOS 6 and usage on Iphone 5. Seems like there are problems with it based on the customer reviews. I have this on Nintendo DS and it plays great there.

Zenonia
By Gamevil https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zenonia/id316720410?mt=8#
Another modern RPG remake in a classic JRPG 16-bit style but with real time combat. Lots of people like it and I have it on the list as the later games in the series have in-app purchase which is a plus or minus depending on your preferences. Nice graphics and good adventure in this game.